I talked to a Bullshido kid

At a Chinese party at home, there was a 13 year-old kid that had been taking WTF TKD for 2 years, and was going to test for his black belt in 2 [edit] months.

He mentioned some good things:
* They are taught that TKD is not good for self defense, and that if you are attacked you should just run, and if you have to, kick your attackers as they run you down.
* He said they spar at every class, and that as a high ranking belt, he sometimes gets to take on 2 white belts.
* Even though it's WTF, he says they are told to keep their hands up, and if anyone has their hands down, you get to go over and try to kick them in the head.
* He said he was interested in martial arts, not just TKD. I tried to tell him that he should look into wrestling in high school, to understand some of the holes in TKD. He said he was way to skinny and not built for wrestling, to which I replied, any martial art is about skill and practice, not body type (although he has a point).
* He understood that TKD kicks were for speed, and not very strong. I couldn't get him to learn how to do a MT roundhouse because he was too excited to show me all the kicks in his arsenal, which were all very weak, although that could be because he only weighed 90 lbs or so.

So mostly, he had a handle on what TKD was and wasn't.

But the bullshido parts:
* He was really reverent of his instructor, who was president of the "Martial Arts Organization" in Korea. Unfortunately, that name is too vague to search for. The kid said the guy was a 8th dan, which shouldn't even exist in TKD, and that he was the only 8th dan in North Carolina (where the party was). Nothing wrong with being a 8th dan, but the kid made no mention of the man's skills or teaching ability, just the rank, as though he were in awe of it.
* He is testing for his black belt soon.

At a Chinese party at home, there was a 13 year-old kid that had been taking WTF TKD for 2 years, and was going to test for his black belt in 2 years.

He mentioned some good things:
* They are taught that TKD is not good for self defense, and that if you are attacked you should just run, and if you have to, kick your attackers as they run you down.
* He said they spar at every class, and that as a high ranking belt, he sometimes gets to take on 2 white belts.
* Even though it's WTF, he says they are told to keep their hands up, and if anyone has their hands down, you get to go over and try to kick them in the head.
* He said he was interested in martial arts, not just TKD. I tried to tell him that he should look into wrestling in high school, to understand some of the holes in TKD. He said he was way to skinny and not built for wrestling, to which I replied, any martial art is about skill and practice, not body type (although he has a point).
* He understood that TKD kicks were for speed, and not very strong. I couldn't get him to learn how to do a MT roundhouse because he was too excited to show me all the kicks in his arsenal, which were all very weak, although that could be because he only weighed 90 lbs or so.

So mostly, he had a handle on what TKD was and wasn't.

But the bullshido parts:
* He was really reverent of his instructor, who was president of the "Martial Arts Organization" in Korea. Unfortunately, that name is too vague to search for. The kid said the guy was a 8th dan, which shouldn't even exist in TKD, and that he was the only 8th dan in North Carolina (where the party was). Nothing wrong with being a 8th dan, but the kid made no mention of the man's skills or teaching ability, just the rank, as though he were in awe of it.
* He is testing for his black belt soon.

Doesn't sound like bullshido to me, it sounds like they are telling their students the truth. I bet it keeps the kid in good shape.

i dont understand the name of the forum, he didnt sound so bullshido to me, are you saying just becuase he does tkd that he is bullshido, i do WTF tkd and in my class and most classes i know we dont keep are hands down at all, i hate when people think that all tkd does that. We practice ground work to, and our kicks are ment to take an attacker out right away. There is a difference between TKD sparring kicks and TKD realaty, tkd sparring kicks are weak and dont use the whole body, but the way we are taught is to use our whole body and turn side ways with a round house.

There is a difference between TKD sparring kicks and TKD realaty, tkd sparring kicks are weak and dont use the whole body, but the way we are taught is to use our whole body and turn side ways with a round house.

Why not use the way you are taught in sparring?

My major bullshido complaint is that the kid is up for a black belt, which I can't take seriously. This isn't a great argument, but I'll still do it: I couldn't do **** to a BJJ black belt, whereas I could stop this kid in one strike. A black belt should mean something significant, but it actually means all sorts of stuff depending on what art you take.

He's up for a black belt? I thought you wrote that he's done TKD for 2 years and is getting his black belt in 2 years. Does that mean he'll be getting a black belt in 2 years total or in another 2 years from now?

And is he getting a black belt or a junior black belt? While I don't agree with awarding kids black belts, the junior black belt isn't too bad an idea to my mind.